“Corey von Furstenberg” has had a lot of practice scamming people, according to his family.
His latest victim, allegedly, is Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities. The 38-year-old allegedly talked his way into renting a $15,000-a-month penthouse at the developer’s 496 Broadway in Soho. Furstenberg, whose real last name is Mayer, convinced the developer that he is related to fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, according to a lawsuit filed by Thor.
The scam may be unusual, but it isn’t out of character, according to Mayer’s family. Estranged family members told the New York Daily News that he regularly lied to them and had violent outbursts, including one instance where he tried to choke his mother.
Though Mayer claims to run the PR firm Von Furstenberg Creative Group, his family told the newspaper that the last job he held was at Walmart — and he was fired. Mayer dismissed his family’s accusations, saying that his mother and sister have mental health issues.
Mayer has denied the lawsuit’s allegations that he fabricated powerful familial connections to secure the apartment and that he’s fallen behind on his rent. He told the newspaper that he withheld rent because his apartment didn’t have any gas from May through August.
“I just kind of laugh about it. I’m laughing out of anger but it doesn’t strike me as funny and you just go with it. They wanna ‘Mean Girl’ me in the press? Mean Girl me,” he told the newspaper. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel